Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, VOLUME 119 | 2024
Research Articles
Irrigation, migration and infestation: a case study of Chagas disease vectors and bed bugs in El Pedregal, Peru
1Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, School of Public Health and Administration, One Health Unit, Zoonotic Disease Research Lab, Lima, Peru
2University of Pennsylvania, Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, Philadelphia, PA, United States of America
3University of Michigan, Department of Epidemiology, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America
4Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Department of Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA, United States of America
DOI: 10.1590/0074-02760240002
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ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND The city of El Pedregal grew out of a desert, following an agricultural irrigation project in southern Peru.
OBJECTIVES To describe infestation patterns by triatomines and bed bugs and their relationship to migration and urbanization.
METHODS We conducted door-to-door entomological surveys for triatomines and bed bugs. We assessed spatial clustering of infestations and compared the year of construction of infested to un-infested households. To gain a better understanding of the context surrounding triatomine infestations, we conducted in-depth interviews with residents to explore their migration histories, including previous experiences with infestation.
FINDINGS We inspected 5,164 households for Triatoma infestans (known locally as the Chirimacha); 21 (0.41%) were infested. These were extremely spatially clustered (Ripley’s K p-value < 0.001 at various spatial scales). Infested houses were older than controls (Wilcoxon rank-sum: W = 33; p = 0.02). We conducted bed bug specific inspections in 34 households; 23 of these were infested. These were spatially dispersed across El Pedregal, and no difference was observed in construction age between bed bug infested houses and control houses (W = 6.5, p = 0.07).
MAIN CONCLUSIONS The establishment of agribusiness companies in a desert area demanded a permanent work force, leading to the emergence of a new city. Migrant farmers, seeking work opportunities or escaping from adverse climatic events, arrived with few resources, and constructed their houses with precarious materials. T. infestans, a Chagas disease vector, was introduced to the city and colonized houses, but its dispersal was constrained by presence of vacant houses. We discuss how changes in the socioeconomic and agricultural landscape can increase vulnerability to vector-borne illnesses.
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Financial support: This work was supported by the National Institute of Health [NIH-NIAID 1R01AI146129].
+ Corresponding author: mzlevy@pennmedicine.upenn.edu 
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4661-3764
Received 06 January 2024
Accepted 12 June 2024
HOW TO CITE
Gonçalves R, Hacker KP, Condori C, Xie S, Borrini-Mayori K, Riveros LM, et al. Irrigation, migration and infestation: a case study of Chagas disease vectors and bed bugs in El Pedregal, Peru. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz. 2024; 119: e240002.
